


Children of the damned

by Moonlightdeer



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: And I mean worldbuilding, Atem/Yami has no idea how the world works and is three seconds away from shadow games at all times, Broken memories of a life long lost, But that's a complicated mess of reincarnation and trapped ancient spirits, But that's what happens when your dad's a war/chaos god, Gonna try and make this convoluted story as easy for anyone to digest as possible, Mentions of Murder, Might put a few illustrations in here and there to help you all visualise, Multi, Mythology in modern day AU, Oh and Yugi isn't a full blooded human, Really not sure how best to tag this, Warning you're gonna need google if you want to know who everyone who shows up is, Without using a character to stand in for the audience as much as possible, Worldbuilding, Yugi and Yami are brothers, Yugi is trying to stay sane, reference to past, traumatic past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-05-03 05:06:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14561499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlightdeer/pseuds/Moonlightdeer
Summary: The bastard son of a prostitute, born in the red-light district of Nagoya, Yugi was given a pretty rotten hand by fate to start his life off.But with the death of his spiteful mother, the young boy suddenly found himself safely within the legal care of the one woman who'd protected him in that place, and far away, beginning a new life in Domino.When his eighth birthday rolls around, Mr Mutou, his 'aunties' boss, gave him a present that would change his life forever, and start him on the path to solving a mystery gone unsolved for centuries.The present? An ancient puzzle, gone unsolved for millennia, harbouring the spirit of a dead boy.Their journey for answers will be long, but when you find out you're the immortal son of a god and you've been dead for about four thousand years, time doesn't really have much meaning.





	1. The Spiders den

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this AU is a pretty big gamble for how much lore from our world I plan to use here.   
> The tag stating that google might be required was not a joke.  
> There's a high chance you'll have to look up a lot of the characters who show up because of their subliminal meanings and how they tie into the story and modern day life in general.  
> If all of that hasn't put you off, then good for you and I hope you enjoy my first Yu-Gi-Oh fanfictions, and my first full blooded AU!

**Chapter 1 - The Spider's den**

* * *

Nagoya -Red light district - September 1986

The waning moon was high in the sky as patrons came and went from the front doors of the ‘Spiders Den’, the men and women alike entering in all states, and leaving stated and content, if a good sight poorer.

A single pair of bright amethyst eyes went all but ignored as their owner sat in his own little corner, hidden by the low light and shadows, surrounded by plush handmade cushions and quilts, and a equally handmade and soft teddy bear clutched close to his chest. 

He was too young to understand the intricacies of this place.

He wasn’t young enough not to know his mother did not want him near her.

He was fine with that, he didn’t like her, she smelt nasty, and she shouted a lot when others weren’t around.

He liked one of the other ladies more.

She liked him, she was his aunty as far as he was concerned, he called her such, but she called him ‘Little Prince’ it made him feel happy when she called him that, made him feel comforted, warm on cold nights, cool on hot.

She was the one who made the things that surrounded him, she loved to take thread and fabrics and make them into wonderful creations.

Nothing she made ever broke, at least, nothing had yet.

He was five, proud of it too, and in those five years of his life, he’d made sure to love and care for the items she gave him as much as her.

He just wished she had more time.

She lived here too, with his mother. She didn’t take strangers into locked rooms though, she worked on a weird clacking thing that made fabrics, beautiful tapestries that were sold off to help make more money.

Even his young mind knew her work was popular. 

When she wasn’t on the clacking thing, she was reading books, summing up the profits she’d say. Making sure we have good revenue, she would also say.

He didn’t know what those words were, but he knew the mean lady who ran this place was always demanding to know what numbers she had worked out.

The thought of the lady made the brightness of his eyes dim, she was like his mother, mean and bossy.

They were both bossy to aunty. Always shouting when she’d pick him up and refuse to let them take him somewhere.

They’d start shouting and he’d drown them out as best he could in the warm black Kimonos she wore, each one woven with a different coloured thread, each made by her hands and carrying the most comforting of smells.

She smelt of honey, he loved honey, it was his favourite treat whenever she had enough extra to get him some from the shops nearby.

There was one Kimono he liked the most, the one with many thread colours. 

The one covered in snakes, spiders and cranes. Decorated with stars and moons of all stages.

It smelled not of honey, but of warmth itself, of a warm fire and the the burning incense she always had  smouldering slowly in her room.

“Yugi~ Little Prince~” 

The soft call immediately brought his mind to the present, and his head snapped at the always welcome voice, his own face morphing into a bright smile at the sight of his aunty.

Hair as black as night and skin a tan he’d later learn to be of Mediterranean origin, his aunty stood out from the natives, her height as well left her a good two feet over most, though she was boney, a high metabolism she’d claim, which he also didn’t understand the meaning off.

He didn’t focus on that now, he focused on her wide open and welcoming arms.

She was done for the day, they could leave this weird place, and for once before his mother was done.

They could get away without her shouting.

Not wanting to delay a moment more, he pushed himself to his shaky feet, he didn’t like walking, it always felt weird, but he was getting the hang of it, if he walked to her, she’d carry him the rest of the way, a fair trade off.

So he did, still clinging to the teddy which he’d never thought to name, and stumbled into her hold.

He was swept up almost instantly, cradled by her deceptively frail figure. 

His aunty was stronger, far stronger than many thought.

He’d witnessed her break up many a fight with feats of strength that even surprised repeat offenders of this place.

“Little Prince~ It’s time for night school~.” She always said it with a sing song voice.

He liked it, it made it sound fun.

For him, it was fun.

He loved night school.

It was nice, quiet, the teacher, the only one he had, was really nice, the only male he actually respected if he was honest.

There was also the darkness, shadows were his comfort, the blackness felt like a comforting embrace for the young boy. 

“Ok.” He responded, nuzzling up against her collar bone.

He felt more than saw as she drew the silk like shawl over him, nestling him into the warm darkness he so loved to be in.

But then he heard it.

The unique creak that only one door in this building had.

“You better be taking that rat to the orphanage Aracha.” 

The words were spat like venom, and he instantly curled up, recoiling from the toxic words of his biological mother.

“I will do no such thing. You tell me to do so every night I take him out of this place. You know I will never abandon him.” Aunty responded, holding him closer.

“Bah. I shouldn’t of let you talk me out of that clinic.”

He didn’t know what that meant, but he’d heard it so many times in his short life, it still hurt.

His Aunty always reacted the same way, with a cold indifference. “Then it’s a good thing the authorities shut down that illegal hell hole. Now if only they’d come back for you.”  

Then she was leaving, whisking him away into the cool night, her Kimono blending with the shadows as much as her darker complexion and hair, his own pale as snow skin and wide innocent eyes, hidden from those who lurked in the shadows, intents impure and murky. 

She only stopped when they reached the bus stop, the harsh lights kept from him, but he heard her hiss in distaste, her own eyes assaulted by the sudden brightness.

Only when she sat down did she pull at the shawl enough for their gazes to meet, his wide amethyst eyes meeting her almost ruby like eyes.

“Excited little prince?” She cooed, raising a boney finger to brush his chubby cheek.

He giggled and nodded, just happy to be with her.

She’d stay with him through the night school, she hated leaving his side as much as he hated seeing her leave him to sleep in the mornings, after making sure that the blackout curtains were fully closed.

“Yup!” He replied at last, peering out over her shoulder to watch the stray car roll by, the faded neon that surrounded them making the metal shine in ever changing hues.

“Aunty.”

“Yes?” 

“Is my birthday coming soon?”

“Hmm, not for some time I’m afraid Little Prince. Do you want something? A new toy? A new blanket?” 

He paused to think. He loved all those things, and he’d love anything she gave him.

But that wasn’t what he wanted.

“I want parents.” 

There was a lull of silence, and he felt her clutch him tighter. 

“Yugi…” 

“Not her… she’s not my mommy… I want a real mommy, and a real daddy… people who love me like you do.” 

“I know Little Prince. I know you want a mommy and daddy of your own. I know for a fact that one day, one day you’ll find them, and you’ll never want to let them go. But for now. You have me. And I will do all in my power to make you the happiest boy alive.” Her response was sombre, he recognised it from the few times he’d asked this same thing before.

They fell into silence for a long while, as he watched for the bus, and she watched the sky, her eyes never leaving the moon.

“Aunty…” He mumbled, quieter, when he could no longer bare the silence. 

“Yes?”

“Why have I never seen the Sun?” 

There was no answer from his Aunty for a long time.

Even as the bus rolled up, as they got on.

Even once they were sat down she did not reply, just kept watching the moon.

He asked again when they took a break from numbers with his teacher, whilst the other kids went and played together, avoiding him and his aunty like the plague.

His teacher gave them space, but even then she did not answer.

Earning even an odd look from the teacher and a snide joke from one of his peers. 

‘What kind of loser has never seen the Sun?’

It was only when she was tucking him into his nest of a bed did she finally answer, in a whisper almost too quiet for himself to hear, even as she whispered it into his ear.

“You have never seen the Sun, because the Sun wants nothing more than to harm you. And I will never let him hurt you.” 

The answer confused him, but it was an answer, and sleep was quickly taking him as the moon began to set and the suns rays already lightened the horizon.

He was already half asleep when he heard another whisper, from further away.

“Never again will he burn you to ash.” 

Arachne waited for the boy to be in true slumber before she allowed herself to relax, rubbing at her strained temples with her boney fingers.

Her stomach growled in warning.

She’d have to hunt soon, she had not had a proper meal in weeks.

She’d have to hunt tomorrow night, it was a Saturday, no night school for the Little Prince.

But she always worried about those few hours she was gone.

She had to time it right.

If Asami knew her spawn was left unattended, she would steal away the precious child, and doom him to become lost within the grasp of the orphanages.

And without her, she had no doubt he would eventually step out into sunlight.

The very thought chilled her blood, made her shudder in fear.

He was no Vampire, but he was a child whom one of the Sun's many deities, would not hesitate to burn him to ash if he discovered the boy alive with a beating heart again.

For his life meant the end to the eons of suffering.

A suffering that damned deity did not ever want to see end.

If the little prince was discovered by the Sun. All her work, all the deals she had made, all the years she had spent toiling over the mere preparation of the Prince’s resurrection, it would be over, and she would be punished.

Her fears did not outweigh her drive though.

Her drive was unwavering, and it had not wavered.

Not since the day his true mother had helped her realise that the curse she bore was not a death sentence, but a new life.

The very thoughts that plagued her mind were quickly beginning to weigh on her again.

She shook her head, the illusion of the straight, knee length black hair flying around her as she banished those thoughts to the back of her subconscious once more.

Her focus went to the door, to the many bolts and locks she quickly did up, she had claimed many a time that she did not want a drunk patron barging in and mistaking her bedroom as another of the pleasure rooms that filled this place.

Then the the single window, and the thick blackout curtains, without hesitation she drew them, doing up the knots that tied the two pieces together in the center, then repeating it with each side to the surrounding walls on all sides.

No sunlight, even if the sun rose on the other side of the building, the blinds were to remain closed until the sun was completely set again.

His prying eye taken with it.

Once certain the room was secure, Arachne turned to her Kimono, it slid easily off her, pooling onto the floor and leaving her bare except for the strapless leather bra she kept over herself.

She did not care about her modesty, this form would not remain for more than a few more seconds, and the Little Prince was fast asleep, aided by the sleep charms woven into the pillows and blankets that held him.

Within moments the transformation began, and within even less time, it was complete, the act perfected after centuries under the tutelage of her seniors.

Where once were two human legs, now stood eight, each black with mottled brown spots, the limbs thin but powerful, easily holding the weight of her upper body and her abdomen.

Her two ruby like eyes had now become eight her face altered and widened to accommodate the eight sight organs, along with the fangs that now lined her mouth.

The stomach, now moved to its rightful place, made itself known again, and her fanged mouth frowned.

It would seem she would have to hunt in these twilight hours.

She could not put off the hunt any longer.

With the mutter of a single spell and prayer for a safe hunt to Artemis, she was gone from the locked room.

She would return by dawn, her stomach full and her appetite quenched.

The news would once again return to the string of similar disappearances in Osaka, none ever finding a body to identify the cause of disappearance or death.

She had centuries of experience making her kills as clean and untraceable as the wind itself, they had no chance of piecing it together, even with all their new fangled equipment.

A stray hair in a dark alley was hardly a sound clue.


	2. A visitor

**Not much really to say here, other than that I hope anyone who reads this will enjoy it!**

* * *

It started with her being more tired.

His mother began struggling to get out of her bed in the evenings, she became angrier, she threw even more things.

His Aunty always stood in their way, taking the projectiles.

Everyone else just watched.

He had the feeling they knew what was wrong with her, they stayed away, his aunty was the only one who brought her food, and every time left with another bruise from the lamp, or whatever his mother could throw at her.

But every time he worried for her, told her she should duck, she would just smile, a smile even larger than the one she had on whenever she left his mothers room.

“Don’t worry little Prince, you’ll never have to worry about her again soon.”

The way she said that, with that voice he loved because of how joyful it was… it scared him.

He hid it from her, whenever she wasn’t with him, when he was in the comfort of his little shadowy corner of his home, he cried.

He didn’t know why he cried.

Was it because his mother had been visited by that man in the long white coat? The one who held that thing against her chest? The one who told her there was no cure and left as she screamed at him?

Was it because his aunty was happier than ever? Telling him everything was going to be okay soon? Why was she so happy? He thought she cared about his mother, at least a bit, that was why she looked after him, right?

Or was it because he wasn’t scared? Outside of his little corner, he felt, almost numb… like something had descended onto him, wrapping around him like one of his blankets.

It was during this time that he noticed them, a pair of little eyes that had joined him in his little corner.

Dark brown, with a cream stripe running through it against the slit pupils.

Their pattern was really cool too when he reached out, and it pressed its snout into his palm, sliding further up his arm.

He giggled, watching even in the darkness as his new friend slid up his arms, the texture was, comforting, the slide of scales against his skin, cooling all they touched, and leaving a warmth in it’s wake that sent a shiver down his little spine.

Then it was at his head, rubbing its forehead against his cheek.

He giggled again, reaching up to stroke his new friend.

That was when he felt it, something wet, something that left a feeling like the faintest burn against his skin, but he didn’t flinch.

He knew what was wrong.

His new friend was crying, desperately rubbing the side of their face as if trying to burn the marks of scales against his cheek.

Then, he heard it.

The snake was talking, rasping breaths, laboured and almost agonised.

“S-s-son…. Oh son….” 

He froze.

Son… that was what a father called their child… what a mother called their child.

But the voice… it was male, so deep and reverberating he’d almost missed it.

It didn’t fit his tiny… friend?

“Papa?” He mumbled.

They took a rasping breath, pulling away from his cheek, their triangular head coming to hover in front of him, its body still wrapped around his arm.

“S-on… my son… my beautiful little boy… I finally found you…” It was pressing his snout between his eyes now, it’s mouth open as if panting, its eyes closed as more tears pooled.

“Who are you?” He wanted to know.

It pulled back to look at him. Before he could reply, a sudden, piercing scream tore through their shadowy spot.

“MAMUSHI! MAMUSHI! THERE’S A MAMUSHI ON THE BOY!” The scream was from one of the other ladies his mother worked with, she was pointing at his new friend who’s eye slits had widened, as if a bright light was being shone in his face.

His aunty came crashing into the room his shadowy corner was in, her own reddish eyes blown wide and hair disheveled as she froze in place as everyone surrounding seemed to explode into frantic chaos, rushing to grab anything heavy, one screaming about calling pest control… whatever that was.

“Aphoris…”

His new friends jaw dropped further.

“Arachne… You brought him back… it was you…” 

He saw tears form in his aunty’s eyes, even as one of the other ladies seemed to be rushing towards him, towards… Aphoris… his new friend was called Aphoris, with what looked like a dagger…

His friend saw it too, and suddenly the tears were gone, he was lunging… he was biting into the woman’s neck…

There were horrified screams even as the woman brought the dagger down, slicing into his friends side.

He cried out, not for the woman he’d never bothered to learn the name of… but for Aphoris, who’s gasp of pain led him to falling to the ground, his side torn clean open, blood pooling out.

The woman went down, even from here, he could see her veins turning black, her entire body twisting and warping like a thousands insects had crawled inside and started throwing a party directly under her skin.

The others screams hit what felt like a fever pitch.

Aunty dived for Aphoris, grabbing him before the others could hurt him more.

She was gone in a flash of movement even he couldn’t catch, leaving the others to stumble and gasp, as if thrown of balance.

Then, something splashed him, right between his eyes, jolting him.

Reaching up, a single finger pressed into something warm that now trickled down his nose.

Pulling back he could see it, even in the darkness a stain of a deep black, almost oily liquid, tinted with red and gold that seemed to give of the tiniest glow, like fading embers of a dying candle.

_ “Sleep my child… I will find you again… for now… be blessed by the dreams of our happiest times…” _

Before he could react, he felt his eyes drooping, his gaze falling on the now still woman, her body already turned a sickly black, the tips of her sandal wearing toes being blown away like ash on an invisible wind.

Aphoris… that was his name… he just… he killed her…

Why didn’t he feel anything? Why was he numb?

He didn’t care… he just wanted to sleep…

So he did, his eyes falling completely shut, his head hitting his comfy pillows a moment later.

* * *

They were miles away before Arachne stopped, cradling the bloody snake against her chest.

It was under the eclipsed sun, sheltered by an ancient sakura that she finally stopped, breath laboured as she took deep breaths, gritting her teeth against having to run so far and fast in her human form, it wasn’t made for this level of exertion. 

With those gritted fanged teeth, came more tears.

“Aphoris… what the hell…” 

The half dead snake looked up at her through strained eyes. 

“I had to find him… he was in my darkness… like a beacon… I had to… it’s been so long… I… Arachne… thank you… thank you… a thousand… no, a million times I wish to repeat my thanks… you brought him back…” 

Arachne stared at the half dead snake. “You possessed one of your subjects… the eclipse…”

The snake nodded. “He is not able to see this part of the earth for now… giving me all but the briefest window to find a soul so deeply tied to mine…”

There was a suggestion there, as if he was considering something else, Arachne knew exactly who it was that drew the look of longing and loss to the snake. 

“Even you can’t find her… can you?” 

“I have but moments until he notices my absence and begins burning the world to ash in search for me… she is likely not in the eclipse range… for I sense no beacon in my shadows…. Other than that of Heba...”

“Yugi… his names Yugi now…” She corrected, looking away, unsure of how he would react.

He stared at her with fading eyes. “Y… Yugi… a new name for a new body… Arachne… I saw no wings… no talons…” 

“I put a sealing incantation on him the moment he was birthed into my arms, they are there, hidden from sight of all, even gods…”

“A powerful incantation… it must take great energy from you…” 

“I wove it into my threads… they take the burden like champions…” 

The snake nodded. “This body is dying… I have no time to take over another, please, give them a good burial…”

“You killed one of my co-workers.” 

“They were armed with a dagger! I could not let her harm my son!” The snake suddenly spat, those flicking eyes suddenly erupting into a bright inferno behind the glaze of his eyes. Then, as quickly as the inferno had come, it vanished again, replaced by unmeasurable exhaustion. “I want them back… I want them all back in my coils… my wife… my sons… I wish to hold them all… and look at me! A god forced to hide as one of his own subjects just to find the son that he failed to protect all those millenia ago!” He was becoming desperate, a glance at the already ending eclipse proving the cause for his actions.

“Go then… I’ll bury this one… And I’ll keep Yugi safe… I owe it his mother…” 

Aphoris  scowled. “You better mean my wife, and not that tramp.” 

Arachne huffed. “You had her infected didn’t you?” 

Aphoris regarded her in confusion. “I don’t think she was even born the last moment an eclipse gave me access to these lands…” He muttered.

“Oh… so this is a natural string… she’s contracted HIV from one of her clients.” 

“Bah, that’s what rats like her get.” 

“Aphoris.” 

“You hate her, I can see it in your eyes… the moment she’s dead, you can take my boy away from there, take him somewhere safe… take him to the underworld, Hades and the others will protect him.”

“I know. We just need to be patient, the laws of this world have changed, I need to win custody of him first.” 

Aphoris would of asked, she knew he would of begged to understand what she meant, he had no time to learn of modern customs.

But the end of the eclipse had reached them, and so, the little serpentine body fell deathly cold on her blood soaked hands.

Sighing she waited in the shade of the sakura, doing her best to dig a deep enough pit in the shadow for the snake to be left undisturbed by above ground predators.

The shadow itself began to ripple as she patted the Earth.

_ “Her death is still months away~” _ the sing song voice of whatever spirit this was sung, she never bothered to remember their names, and they didn’t care if she knew or not.

They all wanted the same thing, that’s why the Yokai helped her, acting as eyes and ears all across Japan, in no other country had she found a more secure place to reincarnate Heba, yes they were mischievous, but in this case, they behaved, behaviour meant they all got what they wanted, and they were willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity for that.

Helped that the whole lot of them were involved.

“A few months is all I need to transfer legal claim of Yugi. I am an accountant and weaver, not a prostitute. She’d probably hand him right over if she wasn’t so filled with spite.”

The Yokai hissed.  _ “We could fix that~ Kill her now…” _

“No, Yugi is still attached, she has to die slowly, filled with anger and hatred and spite, so he won’t mourn her death.” 

_ “Very well. Ohh~ How could I forget~ Last night, Atem was found~”  _ The Yokai’s fanged grin was visible in the flickering leaf shadows in front of her. 

Arachne froze stiff, her eyes wide at the implication. “How…” 

_ “A group of Archaeologists, they finally cracked the last seal, they have the Puzzle. It’s on it’s way to Japan as we speak~ Solomon Mouto holds the boy at this very moment.~ It is a miracle they weren’t caught by a patrol… they’d have been killed on the spot if they were~”  _

“Where are they going?”

_ “Hmm? Thinking of moving the boy? Getting in contact?” _

She nodded. 

_ “Dom-ino City.~” _ The Yokai rolled the name, like they were savouring the sweetness of the secret.

The Yokai was gone before she could ask another question.

“Domino? Hmm… that’s easily a three hour night train journey… I’ll have to take Yugi.”

She could barely believe it.

Atemu was finally out of Egypt.

To think she’d been preparing to send Yugi to Egypt to find his brother, it would seem all of that preparation was no longer needed.

It took another good few minutes before a cloud blocked the sun enough for her to start darting between covers again, letting off a sigh of relief when she once again found herself in the cool shade cast by the red light districts squashed together buildings.

It took at most another three minutes of darting through empty streets before she arrived back at the Spiders Den.

The entire building was filled with hysterical women, none of them even noticed her return, or her move to go pick up Yugi, her curious yet reassured smile at the sight of the oil that had reached his face.

He was dreaming peacefully, with a bigger smile on his face than she’d ever seen before when he was awake.

Perfect timing really, it was time for the little tyke to go to bed anyway.

Tucking him in went by quickly, given she hadn’t even bothered to open the blinds last night, there’d been quite the nasty street brawl the night before, she didn’t want Yugi seeing it as well as he had heard it.

At least nobody ever dared call the police around here, too afraid their own shady dealings would be caught.

The death of Chichi would be forgotten within a few days, a mass hallucination they’ll probably wrap it up too.

That or a Yokai might decide to do her a solid and get into all of their heads, make them forget she even ever worked here.

Even existed in the first place even.

Glancing at the small boxy TV she owned, she thought of actually turning it on for once, with Yugi out cold from his fathers magic, she wouldn’t be waking the child anytime soon, and she could hear the head mistress locking up shop, none of the ladies she lived with ready for customers tonight after the sudden arrival of Aphoris.

Not that they knew they’d been in the presence of an ancient God of War and Chaos.

The TV took a whack to get working, the static buzzing for a few minutes as she slipped into her true form to sit more comfortably in her own ground level nest like bed, she couldn’t weave a web like she wanted, she couldn’t risk being discovered and having her banished from this place, it was her safe haven for now.

**“We’re receiving word of a massive temperature spike within the boundaries of Egypt.”**

**“For those of you who somehow don’t know. Egypt, the hermit nation that dominates the northern half of Africa, is a nation of complete mystery to the rest of the world. Many an attempt to invade the massive nation to claim its resources have failed. The reason namely being either the the archaic yet highly aggressive natives, or the blistering seventy degrees celcius heat. A natural phenomenon that has baffled the minds of everyone from the ancient scholar Plato, who first made reference to the nation and it’s hostility over two thousand years ago, to modern day meteorologists. Despite many attempts throughout history, communication with the people who somehow survive in that hellscape once quoted as the proof that Hell itself exists on Earth, have failed, with the only progress being a recent incursion passed the boundaries by a crack team of soldiers and archaeologists into the nearly abandoned northern coast. One of these daring souls is the multi billionaire, Maximillion Pegasus, who funded the most recent expedition, and who are on their way back to Japan as we speak.”**

**“Thank you Chen. As my lovely co-host said, Egypt, that enigma to the world, was, until recently, a complete unknown. But thanks to both this expedition, and the satellites now above us, we can catch a glimpse within the massive burning nation. As shown with these images...”**

The newscasts droning quickly became white noise to her as she fell into thought.

She wasn’t surprised that egypt was experiencing a temperature spike, of course he was angry, all it took was one night, or maybe a few, and one of his two prisoners had slipped from his grasp and into inter-pantheon territory.

Everyone in the Pantheons was going to hear that Atem was on his way to being freed, the news would spread like wildfire.

Hopefully she could unite the two boys and get them safely back into hiding before anyone she didn’t want to deal with found them.

Easier said than done.

Maybe… She was an accountant, she had more money saved away than she knew what to do with, when that bitch finally died… and Yugi was hers by legal right, she could move, leave Nagoya, move to Domino and try to get in contact with this Mr Moutou, yes, that sounded like the best way to do this.

Mind made up, she began to make up plans, finally pulling out the adoption documents she’d requested from the nearest registry two years ago.

They were still valid, they would be for another eight years.

She spent the early hours of the night filling in the documents, humming low to herself as her mind balanced on the precipice of wandering off, back into old memories herself.

She felt giddy if she was being fully honest with herself, absolutely giddy.

The stress of getting Atem out of Egypt had been handled for them, the risk to Yugi’s life was lower now, not that it wouldn’t go away for a long time still.

A murmur from the young boys bed finally drew her attention to the now finished documents, she felt a warm smile bloom on her features.

“You’re mother really was an odd one, wasn’t she?” 

Yugi murmured again but then fell back into his deep sleep.

It reminded her of her own fatigue, running so far in her human form had worn her down, she needed her own sleep.

Resigning herself to that fact, Arachne quickly joined her charge in the world of dreams.

* * *

_ He was stumbling, feet barely kept under him as he walked. _

_ There was a weight on his back, his legs felt weird... but natural…  _

_ The walls were an odd texture as he ran his hand along them, coloured in loads of different pretty colours, there was loads of small pictures too, but it was so dark, he could only feel the grooves they left. _

_ But then, how did he know they were coloured? _

_ He didn’t think long on that, the dark corridor finally melted away to a large chamber, lit only by the moon coming in from the balcony beyond the room. _

_ There were voices he couldn’t understand, but one caught his attention like as if it were a beacon in the night. _

_ The voice was soft, a croon mingling with the lower tones that flitted from the other side of the room. _

_ He didn’t even bother to look at how lavish everything was, all the gold, all the cool items the moons light was bouncing off of, he was focused now solely on the voice. _

_ From the wide floor to ceiling doorway on the other side of the room, behind semi transparent curtains, a world of lush greens and cool dessert existed, but not even the stunning view of a land he had never seen before could distract him. _

_ His mouth moved, uttering words he did not understand. _

_ The voice stopped, halting abruptly. _

_ The shadows began to shift, and a pair of the brightest red orbs he’d ever seen focused on him, the darker red slit centers like the hearts of rubies. _

_ He felt no fear as the massive being shifted, coils gliding over each other and the smooth ground so quietly he could barely hear them. _

_ They were speaking, moving towards him, hands reaching out, each easily larger than his torso. _

_ Still he felt no fear. _

_ Even as a larger body of shadow in the other corner began to shift, and a body with the faint glow of a dying candle began to move. _

_ With it, a deep, rumbling voice like thunder, it would send chills down even the bravest mans spine, that he knew. _

_ But still he felt no fear as he walked into the first ones hold, sighing as their cooling touch met his suddenly too hot skin. _

_ He was cuddled then, held to the softest fabric he had ever felt, he felt them bump his forehead with another cool thing, looking up he found his gaze meeting their eyes again, the red rimmed with a gold that reflected the red light like a mirror.  _

_ Lighting up their entire scale covered head in a red hue. _

_ They were talking again, the same soft, soothing voice, with the low croon. _

_ “Heba… Heba… I told you to sleep child, you have a busy day tomorrow with your Uncle.”  _

_ He could understand her now, as she focused on him. _

_ “He is a young lad, he misses your hold.” The deeper voice called as bright amber eyes moved closer, towering into view and completely blocking out the glow of the moon, far larger than the one holding him, the amber of their eyes seemingly aflame with a warmth as they too looked down to him. _

_ “As do I. But we must be firm, he must get used to sleeping on his own, his brother had to, and so shall Heba.”  _

_ “One night wouldn’t hurt. Come beloved, we have many years to wean him off your hold at night.”  _

_ He heard her sigh and nuzzle the side of his face. “Very well, come son. Get Atem, it would not be right to leave him out too.”  _

_ There was the sound of shifting bodies, and another voice, mumbling suddenly in a groggy voice, woken from sleep. _

_ “Father? What’s…?” _

_ “Come now son, we’re all going to sleep in a nice big pile tonight. I’ve convinced your mother to be lenient for once.” _

_ “Okay father.”  _

_ Even in the darkness he knew his ‘brother’ was asleep already. _

_ He wanted to see his brother. He let off a whining sound.  _

_ “Let me take them both, you lead the way.”  _

_ “Very well.” He felt his body being passed from the cool arms of one, to the far larger arm of another. _

_ It felt so right as he was tucked onto his side, against the paradoxically warm and yet cold scales of the other, his father. _

_ They talked in low tones as they left the moon lit room for the darkness of the corridors. He couldn’t hear them, but he could feel the words vibrating in his father's broad chest. _

_ At least he thought it was his chest. _

_ It was so dark he couldn’t tell. _

_ That was when he felt something else, warm and human, his brother? _

_ “Atem?” He murmured, calling to the older boy. _

_ The sleeping boy seemed to rouse again. “Hmm?”  _

_ “I’m not sleepy.” He wasn’t, he felt wide awake. _

_ He heard a low chuckle from above.  _

_ “It would seem the boys are in need of one of your songs my dear.”  _

_ “It would seem so, would you like that boys?”  _

_ They both hummed in confirmation. _

_ Soon enough he was being handed back, along with his brother, his brother was a few years older, and his leg hung down almost limp as he rest against their mothers shoulder. _

_ There was more shifting now, those pairs of red and amber eyes looking between each other with the odd glance down at them, a silent conversation as their parents moved together, coiling their bodies like ropes.  _

_ Then began the song, as they were both held close to the soft fabric their mother wore, with the song came a low thrum from their father, so deep it reverberated through him turning him to putty almost. _

_ He slipped into oblivion soon after.  _

_ “Goodnight Heba, Goodnight Atemu, my little princes.” Were the final words he heard from his mother. _

* * *

**Hope you all have a lovely day! And thank you for reading! More is to come!**

**Moon**


	3. The start of something new

**Hello there! Chapter 8 has finally been written! And let me just say the one I'm giving to you today I had a lot of fun writing, and editing, and editing again, this is also when I should probably alert anyone reading this that, though some places may share the same name as a place in real life, very little of our world meshes perfectly with this one. Basically, there's a lot of world building ahead, and I will eventually draw up a map of this world, cause things are quite different.**

**But enough of me rambling, I hope you all have fun with this new chapter!**

* * *

It was December when it happened.

Yugi watched as the doctor pulled the thing away from his mothers chest, sighing and shaking his head before pulling the covers she’d been laying under for the last four weeks over her head.

A few wept around him, his Aunty was hiding her smile behind the sleeve of her Kimono, so the others didn’t see. Everyone else just bowed their heads in solemn mourning for the loss of a co-worker.

He still felt numb.

His aunty was leaning down, brushing his hair back with her hand, pulling a bunch of paper out from the folds of her Kimono. 

“Ready Yugi?” 

He looked up at her in confusion. “For what?” 

She just smiled. “For the next stage of your life of course, go to your corner and start folding up your blankets, okay? We’re leaving soon.” 

He didn’t get time to ask another question before she was gone, changing into more fitting formal attire he’d never seen her wear before, out the front door she went, with a skip to her step that left him feeling like he was missing something.

Knowing not to go against her request, and still feeling that strange numbness, he went to begin folding up his blankets.

It was when he was on the third that someone approached, not his Aunty, but the man in the white coat.

“Son? You’re the woman's child correct?” 

He looked up from where he was kneeling, still holding one end of the current blanket in mid fold, regarding the man from over his shoulder. 

“I guess.” 

“You guess?” 

“She never wanted anything to do with me. Hated me.” 

The man hummed under his breath, his hair was greying, only a bit of the black that it used to be left.

“Did she ever hurt you?”

“No, Aunty always blocked her.” 

“Aunty?” 

“Yeah, she’s not my real aunt, but she looked after me.” 

“Ah, so she acted as your guardian.” 

“I guess.” He didn’t know what that word meant.

“You realise she’s gone to claim custody of you, correct?” 

He looked up at him with a confused look. “What does that mean?” 

“Well, depending on what they allow, she may just become your new mother.” 

“No they won’t.” 

The man looked intrigued. “Oh?”

“She’s looking after me, I asked her to be my mother once. She said she would never take a role that was not hers to take.” 

He hummed. “Then she’ll become a legal guardian then… interesting. She was waiting for your mother to die before claiming you. Do you know why?” 

Yugi shrugged, he knew why, the woman would of said no, just to spite them, she was spiteful.

The man sighed again and knelt down passing a little slip of paper into his hold, he looked up to the man in confusion. 

“To my knowledge, she never wrote a will, all she owns goes to her next of kin, that being you, when you’re old enough, contact these people, claim your inheritance.”

Then he was gone, why do adults always do that? Leave before he was done asking his questions?

Deciding to let it drop, he went back to folding his blankets, he loved how soft they were, even after all this time, it was too dark for him to of ever really of made out the patterns, but he didn’t care, they were his blankets, and that was all that mattered.

His Aunty returned some time later, when he was finally finished, now sitting on the hardwood next to the pile of as well folded blankets as a five year old could manage.

She’d changed her attire completely, wearing now a coat, top and trousers that flare out at the ankles to show off the leather sandals she wore, he’d never seen her wear such clothes before...

She had a bright smile on her face, slipped something to the old lady that ran the place, who nodded and wished her good luck, and that they’d likely never find anyone better than her at fixing their clothes.

* * *

They were at the train station within the hour, his aunt was pulling two large suitcases, one half stuffed with his blankets and the rest filled with clothes and a bunch of other stuff he guessed.

“Where are we going?” 

“Domino City.” 

“What’s wrong with Nagoya?” 

“Yugi… we’re moving.” 

“But what about night school?” 

“Domino has a night school, I've already sent the request to have you transferred there already.” 

“Where are we going to live?” 

“At the house I bought, you’ll get your own room now you know.” 

That sounded fun, his favourite teacher had left a month back due to getting offered a better job at a daytime high school.

He had no other reason to want to say.

“Ok.” He mumbled, looking up and down the near desolate station. 

He wasn’t surprised by the scarcity of life, he’d never seen more people than the total number of women that worked in the place he had lived in his whole life and their clients.

He liked the quiet of the station, away from the shouting outside their former room and the near nightly street brawls which would break out.

The train arrived a few minutes later, announced by the very tracks rumbling and the heavy repetitive clangs and screeches that it created, all coming together in a cacophony of noise that had her reflexively pulling Yugi closer to her side, the darkness to their right lit up by the singular bright amber lamp at the front of the massive boiler as it rounded the final bedn in the track before the platform, the light provided hitting the wide gauge tracks before it, looking eerily like that of an eye gleaming in the darkness,  the rumbling locomotive arrived letting off a low whining whistle as black smoke billowed from it’s towering chimneys, the smoke almost indistinguishable from the ebony black paint of the boiler that reflected their likeness back at them, warped by the rounded box that was it’s boiler casing which was wrapped in an intricate pattern of golden roses and branches, massive wheels and pistons screeched and groaned, being powered by the massive steam engine. And on the side of the boiler, the crest of the Britania Empire. Just seeing the crest made Arachne’s gut knot itself. 

The name of the engine was displayed proudly beneath the crest. “Black Rose.” Made sense with the patterning on the boiler.

She didn’t dare glance at the drivers, Britanians, only those from the Empire were permitted to know how these massive contraptions worked, that the Empire lent out to the other nations of the world to use as transport. ‘A show of good faith’ the Britania Empires Parliamentary body would claim whenever they ‘graciously’ gave another nation use of one of their mechanical contraptions, created from the blazing forges and massive factories that dominated the horizons they sat upon.

All of this went right past Yugi, who looked upon the massive engine as it passed by their spot on the gas lamp lit platform with pure fascination in naive wonder, the massive driving pistons reaching over his Aunties height as they pushed along the rail, the platform being at the same level as the tracks giving him an unobstructed view of the engines looming form.

Behind the black engine, were the carriages, each one hand crafted and ornate in their designs, painted the same ebony black with gold highlight, real gold, Arachne noted, detailing the wreaths of ivy and roses that decorated the side paneling, the seats inside plush with a deep maroon velvet covering and lit by oil candle light that flickered ever so slightly, bathing the insides of the carriages in a warm glow, beckoning them out of the chilled night air.

Boarding was quick enough, the turn of a gold handle and the heavy, reinforced door swung open with the aid of a spring mechanism.

It took two steep corrugated iron steps to get up into the carriage, leaving room to see the massive wheels between the gap, painted a blood red on their massive spokes, even the ones under the carriages were taller than his aunty was.

His Aunty quickly had their luggage packed away in the overhead storage, it caused the only other man in the carriage to raise an eyebrow at her, clearly mistaking her lanky form for being weak.

The door swung shut on it’s own, someone at the back of the train let off a long low whistle, signalling the train to start moving, which it did with another long, mourning blow at its echoing whistle, and the clank of the pistons starting to move again.

They sat at on of the lavish varnished tables, and his Aunty pulled out a children’s book he’d never read before, but the symbols didn’t match the ones he was gradually learning around him.

“Okay Yugi, we have a new life ahead of us. So, to commemorate this, I want to start teaching you my native language.” She explained, placing the book down. “Greek.” 

He looked at the letters that looked nothing like Japanese with an inquisitive look.

Arachne worried her lip, this was a big test, Heba had always been a fast learner, picking up entire languages in only a few days if those alive at the time were credible sources.

Given his origin, she wasn’t a disbeliever of the claims, but she wanted to be certain herself.

The children’s book was quite large, but she wasn’t surprised, it held child safe versions of the tales of her home Pantheon, and boy were there alot of tales to tell.

Opening to the first tale, she found herself staring at an artists rendition of herself, she hesitated, her tale was a cautionary tale of making sure to be humble, something she had been taught unfortunately after her curse was set.

She had not been humbled by the spiteful Athena though, but by the mother of the boy who sat in front of her across the table.

She owed his mother her life, and so, she was paying it back, by giving the ancient being a chance to come back and be happy again.

Yugi’s silent question of why she had frozen up freed her from her thoughts, and she decided to just bite the bullet, all records of his mother had been wiped clean and re-written so as to let her have as much peace as possible.

They’d never realised that same attempt to help, would mean that they lost her.

“This is the tale of the Prideful woman Arachne, a woman of such skill at the loom, that she rivaled Athena, the Goddess of craft, amoung many other things, herself!” 

She almost spat the name of Athena, the Goddess had never shown an ounce of remorse for losing her temper and cursing Arachne all those centuries ago, so the spider woman did not forgive her either.

She watched as Yugi’s eyes widened in sheer elation, she’d rarely had the time to tell him stories, she was going to change that now, now that she had more time with him.

The story was supposed to be brief, but her stopping every line to try and get him to understand what each word meant and how to properly pronounce them slowed them down quite a bit, along with his near constant questioning about this, that, and everything from Greece’s climate and how that could of effected how well the loom worked, down to what kind of food they ate.

Arachne felt her worries dissipate as the man in the carriage began looking more at Yugi in surprised awe than irritation at how much the child was talking so late in the night.

And of course, by the end of her story, the boy was practically reading the language all by himself, not needing her narration to help translate.

Instead, she leaned over and ruffled the boys hair, feeling the soft down hidden from even her sight by the incantations, along with the small flat bumps that rested on his scalp under his hair.

She’d have to start weaving incantations into his actual clothing, maybe a few necklaces too, just to be safe.

“Well done Yugi.” She praised.

Yugi was practically beaming. “Can we read more?! It’s a big book! There has to be more! What happened to Arachne after she became a spider?” 

The boy stared up at her with such an expression of joy she felt her heart stall, Sari should be the one seeing the boy discover his love for learning everything he could, not her.

But she put on a smile anyway, and answered the young boy, still three months from turning six. “Of course we can read more, and don’t worry about Arachne, she did just fine with the help of a very close friend who showed her the way.” 

His eyes lit up even more. 

“Who was the friend?” 

“A sad snake who wanted Arachne to not feel that her curse was a burden, but instead a gift.” 

Yugi tilted his head to the side, a look of confusion forming.

“Why was the snake sad?”

“Because she’d lost everything she loved to the sun.” ‘Including you.’ She added in her mind.

Yugi was too young to know the truth of his origin, she wanted to keep him happy and as innocent as long as she could, protect him from the world outside.

She knew the world would taint his soul, but she wanted to be selfish, and hold onto this boy as long as she could.

He was all she had left of her closest friend, and she would fight anyone to the death if they tried to take him from her now.

Yugi wasn’t done with his questions, unaware of his guardians thought process. “Why did the sun take everything she loved?” 

“Because the sun was spiteful, he hated how happy she and her family were, and how much the people loved them, turning their back on the sun to welcome the cool embrace of the night. He sent a great evil upon the lands, and made sure all she held dear, she would never see again.” 

Yugi’s eyes were beginning to brim with tears, she could see them a mile off, and a glance at the other man showed he had given the tale his full attention, features rapt with macabre curiosity, caught in a tale his weary mind knew ended in tragedy.

“Where’s the snake now?” 

“No one knows. She disappeared into the fog of a river one moonless night, and never returned, singing one last song to the sky that all the world heard and wept for, unifying in the sadness of her lost family… Many say she could no long bare the pain, and drowned herself, hoping to rejoin her lost family in the oblivion beyond life.” The very words she spoke pained her heart, that memory, still burned fresh into her mind.

She was the last person to see his mother alive, her coils disappearing into the freezing river in the heart of Siberia.

Her closest friends last words rung again through her head.  _ “Do not fret Arachne. I will be back in the Elysian fields before you know it.”  _ She had smiled at Arachne, a rarely seen thing, ruby eyes closed as they gave a nod of goodbye, before turning to the river and launching herself into it.

That had happened over six hundred years ago...

They fell into silence, and the man regarded her with a look that he likely couldn’t even understand, sadness, shock, understanding, it was all a jumbled mix.

“Well…” Yugi’s timid quiet voice drew her attention back to him. 

“Yes Yugi?” 

“At least she’s happy, she got reunited with her family.” 

Arachne felt her previously swollen heart crumble a little, knowing that the truth was far from that, regardless her fists clenched under the table, fingernails digging into the plush velvet.

There was no one waiting for Sarilla in oblivion if that was where she had truly gone.

She shook her head and forced a smile upon her face again. “Let’s continue, there’s many stories still to tell, and you’re doing great so far!” 

Yugi, like the young boy he was, was immediately brightened in his expression again as they fell into the next story, one about Centaurs.

For a moment she wondered why she was doing this, she had so many books in her native tongue to pick from.

But the moment she looked back at his wide and rapt amethyst eyes, she knew, he needed to know, he needed to know who his family was, even if he didn’t realise it yet.

That it wasn’t just her.

Once they had Atem freed from his imprisonment, she would take them home to Greece, where the boys could be safe.

The man got off an hour through their journey, leaving them alone in the large warmly lit carriage for the rest of the night.

He left with a single nod to Arachne, they’d never exchanged a single word, but she knew she had earned his respect, so she did the same, respecting the man for his silence. The spring loaded doors swinging back shut once the man was on the platform.

The excitement seemed to burn through Yugi’s energy, and she had to eventually hoist him up into her lap from over the table so that he could sleep within the folds of her winter coat, the gentle rock of the train carriage as the train continued to power down the line, the world outside a blur as the massive engine thundered down the line like a rabid beast, chasing its prey, but the sound was muffled within the carriage, helping to coax the boy to slumber, only twitching once or twice with the low mournful whistle of the engine as it passed through the dark tunnels that passed straight through the mountains and hills, the billowing plumes of smoke filling the thin gap between the train and the tunnel wall, generating a pressure that made her ears pop.

Glancing out she saw with her acute vision the snow which was descending across the world around them, blanketing everything to the horizon in a grey sparkling sheet of frozen crystals.

“Welcome to your new life… Little Prince” 

* * *

Eventually they arrived at Domino station, the Britania Express slowing gradually over the past few miles before coming to a complete stop, perfectly aligned with the platform.

She roused Yugi, who hoped out and onto the platform with a sleepy rub of his eyes, whilst she went to bring the luggage out.

Only to have both taken from her, and placed on the platform, and to instead find a hand offered to them.

“Allow me ma’am.” The thick accent of the man, smile bright and pale green eyes bearing a soft expression, welcomed her to take his hand. “Been wonderin’ when you’ be departing our company. Last call before the old girl heads to her shed to rest.” He meant the train, Britanians had an odd relationship with their machines, they treated them like family, like wise elders.

The coal dusted, oil soaked overalls gave away his identity as one of the Britanian  workers by the very heat the man radiated, she could guess he was one of the drivers who sat beside the massive fire that powered this behemoth along the line. 

Smiling at his courtesy, she accepted the hand, letting the man lead her down. “Now you both have a lovely nigh’. Especially you young man, sleep is good for a growin’ boy like you.” The man said, giving Yugi a nod.

Yugi might of replied if he hadn’t been half asleep on his feet. 

The Britanian worker just chuckled. “Well, I’ll let you both be. If you ever happen to grace us with your presence again, don’ be strangers. It’s a lonely existence when no one wants to talk to you while your so far from home.” The man remarked, knocking back the flat cap he wore on his brow with a finger his smile becoming melancholic for a moment. He wasn’t wrong, Britania had a well deserved stigma around them that kept most other humans and nations from interacting with them, though Japan was more friendly with the empire than most, though that didn’t go much further than a lucrative trade agreement. 

Arachne nodded. “I can understand the sentiment… where are you from in… the Empire?” 

The man beamed at finally getting a word out of her. “Why! I’m from the East Coast of New Britania! You look like you’ve got the heritage of…. Let me guess…. Greece? Mighty navy you’ve got by the way. Welp, have ah nice night ma’am, and get this young’un to bed before he drops.” The man gave a final wave before turning and heading back to the head of the train, which he patted the side of with affection. 

Turning to Yugi she nudged the boy to rouse him. “Alright Yugi, our new home isn’t far from here, once we arrive, you can go straight to bed.”

* * *

It was a few days after their move into their three bedroom house that Yugi met their next door neighbour, Mr Mouto, who insisted that Yugi call the man Grandpa.

He was happy to do so, the man was really friendly, and seemed to accept that Yugi couldn’t go out in the sun due to his rare case of ‘Photosensitivity’, whatever that was, he still needed to find a book about it.

The man was really nice, even giving the boy his first real toy, a puzzle cube that he had to correctly follow a sequence to open.

Much to the older mans surprise and his Aunty’s amusement, he had it open after only about a minute.

He still kept it though, it was a sound way to store any small trinkets.

Those trinkets namely being the pretty stones he found on the walkway that shone under his desk lamp, those that didn’t, he put in a seperate box and tossed out of his window into the garden their new home had, another thing he enjoyed having.

His Aunty was also getting along with his new Grandpa, diving into discussions of ancient stories that he constantly found himself inraptured with.

The man had a warmth to him, a bright smile and the strangest hair style.

It looked like a calmer version of what was developing on his own head.

In his shadowy corner, Yugi had never had much reason to care about his hair, yes his Aunty brushed it for him whenever she had the time, but without a mirror, he didn’t ever really have a full grasp of his own looks.

Now he did have one, in their new bathroom, that he could look into by standing on the toilet seat and leaning over.

His hair wasn’t like others, deciding to defy gravity with how it flared up, his bangs were gold, a stark contrast against the black the rest of his hair made up with it’s strange reddish hue.

He tried to brush it down, but it remained spiky, at least it wasn’t so bad that he’d be mistaken for a starfish though.

The sudden move, the lack of his mother in his life anymore, it all seemed to sudden, yet so right, he had hallways to run down, his Aunty had time to make their own food now, and he had already tried some new dishes from her home country.

His favourite so far was Balkava, which seemed to be his Aunty’s favourite too.

Arachne watched as Yugi looked out the window at the snow covered ground, sun down was at most twenty minutes away but thick cloud cover hid them from view, once night had fallen she would let him play in the back garden, under the lights that hung just above the back door.

She knew his fascination with the world had been triggered on that train ride to their new home, she’d had to keep him away from so much to prevent his curiosity from leading him outside before he knew what danger he was in doing so.

Now, her fear was tempered, the boy showed a veiled fear in his eyes when he saw that the sun was beginning to rise, she’d even walked in to find him trying to close his own curtains.

The only other step needed would be to let him have a brush with the sun, but that would hurt him, send him reeling with the precursor of scarring, but worst of all, it would give  _ him _ all he needed to attack… and kill Yugi if  _ he _ wasn’t stopped.

It was the same curse Sarilla had had placed upon her when she was flung from Egypt all those centuries ago, the sun blistering her hide and leaving her roiling in agony under the suns merciless gaze on the hot sand.

And Heba, he had been cursed the very same, but he had not had the protection of pseudo immortality like his mother, leaving Sarilla, and Aphoris to watch their only true child turn to ash before them. Sarilla never spoke of the day… so it was all an assumption, sans the fact that  _ he _ had cursed them both the same.

Shaking her head to banish the old retellings from the Gods that had witnessed the event and not had the strength nor time to change it, she focused her attention on continuing her work at finishing Yugi’s new winter coat, stitching it with her woven web with the incantations she now knew by heart, to seal the true state from sight, feel, even sound, the constant rustle of the boys feathers would make people suspicious if they weren’t silenced.

Her web bearing needle paused as it pressed against the well stuffed fabric. His wings… those who had seen Heba grow up told her his wings grew with him, and that he had began his lessons on flying at age eight, when they’d finally become strong enough to support him in the air...she’d have to accommodate them somehow… and she would have to eventually show Yugi how to undo the incantations so he could discover his true form… already she felt them pressing against her incantations whenever he rolled or shrugged, causing the limbs bound to his shoulder blades to bounce and move, trying to break past her webbing… for now they were holding… just like she’d told Aphoris… but even her webs had their limits… She was just a monster, she didn’t have the same power range as a God, not by miles.

That was all for a time yet to come, but even now, with her eyes, she could see the light shifting of fabric, Yugi was still seemingly unaware of the limbs on his back but that unknowing would fade, he would notice, and he would ask questions, it was in his nature… it had always been in his nature to ask questions…

_ “You are a curious thing Arachne… aren’t you?” _

_ “I’m fascinated by you! Of course I want to find out more about you!” _

_ “...... I’m sorry… I… I need a moment… oh no, please, don’t be sad… you just… reminded me of…” _

_ “Of your son? Heba right? The one who could fly?” _

_ “U......Yes…… I-I-If you have anymore questions, Hecate or Medusa will be more than happy to answer… T-T-The dawn approaches soon, I… I must return to my… chambers…”  _

_ “Oh… ok… um… Sarilla?” _

_ “...Hmm?” _

_ “I’m sorry… I’m… I’m still getting used to this… I...” _

_ “Don’t... Don't ever be sorry child… don't ever be sorry for being curious… curiosity is a wonderful trait to have… it will take you far… like a bird carried on strong winds… Don’t let your doubts weigh you down. Don’t let it stop you from chasing your dreams of flying amoung the stars.” _

That memory from her early days as a monster was one she clung to tight, more so than ever after Sarilla’s disappearance.

It was the first time she’d felt truly safe… up on that cliff bathed in the light of the setting moon, the first time she’d felt safe since Athena had cursed her… Sarilla’s massive hand had cupped her jaw, directing her to look the serpent in the eyes as she'd spoken those words of reassurance, the soothing cool of her scales even in the last vestiges of the night had been such a stark difference from the icy chill of the night air. She’d closed her eyes at the comforting touch… but no matter how comforting it had felt, the lack of pulse would always remain just as present with that memory.

They had turned then to watch the stars, watch as they were slowly outshone by the sun cresting the horizon behind them, Sarilla had fled to the darkness after only a few short minutes left on that cliff, giving her head one last tentative pat before the serpent dragged herself away.

Sarilla had become something of a motherly figure to her after that… but… she never dared say it… never dared try and do… anything… fearing she’d drive a wedge between her and whatever Sarilla was capable of being for her.

Something in the back of her head had always held her back, to give the serpent her space… to wait to see if she could ever recover… and move on…

Shaking her head to dispel the what ifs that had begun looming on the sides of her mind, she tried to focus back on the coat in her hands.

Before she could even get back to her stitching, the doorbell rang it’s friendly chime.

Placing down the needle she walked over to the door and peered through the little viewer she had requested to have installed, she was surprised to find Mr Moutou standing on her front door step.

Unlocking the door she welcomed the elderly man inside. “Sugoroku! Please! Come in!” 

The elderly man chuckled as he stepped over the threshold, spotting Yugi looking out the front window. “Hello to you both! I thought I’d come tell you right away, that I’ve accepted your application!” The man announced, offering his hand out. “I would be more than delighted to have you help me manage my books, I’ve never had the best memory when it comes to keep tabs on all of the shops finances. I hope with your aid, that no longer needs to be an issue.” 

Arachne practically beamed at the man, chuckling as she took the older mans hand in a fierce grip as they shook to seal the deal, it was all theatrics to keep Yugi from getting suspicious, she and Solomon had worked this all out two months ago. “I’ll be over tomorrow to finalise the details, I have to finish making Yugi’s coat tonight. Then I’m letting the boy out to play in the snow.” She replied, gesturing with her free hand to the almost complete item of clothing on the table.

“Oh of course! I won’t hold you up much more, goodnight both of you!” 

“Good night Mr Mutou.” 

“Nigh’ Grandpa.” Yugi called from where he was still looking out the window into the small front garden, and the road beyond, watching as the odd horse pulled carriage trundled past slowly, mindful of the ice that covered the gravel road

The old man chuckled and turned to leave again, letting Arachne unlock the door for him before they both stepped out.

Arachne closed the front door behind her, leaving it just open enough so as not to lock. “Sugoroku... I can’t thank you enough for this…” 

The elderly man waved her off. “You need all the help you can get. By being my employee, I can claim guardianship of the boy if anything were to happen to you. I have to thank you though, opening my eyes to so much of our world that I never even knew was real…” The man’s eyes grew distant, clearly remembering their early correspondence, when she would transport herself to Domino, practically to his front door, and in turn, opening his eyes to the true breadth of the Pantheons. 

When she had revealed her true state to him, told him who she was from the ancient tales, and that she needed his aid, he had accepted within a heartbeat, unwavered by her pale and almost lifeless appearance, moved by her desperate plea for his aid and his alone in the name of finding an old lost friend, who’s memory had been struck from all the texts of old, dooming her to be forgotten.

“Think nothing of it, and remember… Atem…” 

“Yes I know, Yugi is too young to learn the truth yet, but when I believe he is ready, I will intrust the puzzle to him… though I still feel sorry for the people of Egypt… such an isolated nation… they refuse aid from the outside world despite the fact they are all but cooking… The pride of man shall be our inevitable downfall.”

“The Hubris of the Heroes.” Arachne muttered in acknowledgement, bowing her head in agreement, though a frown did then form on her face. “Egypt burns because of that petty, jealous, fool… once we are finally rid of him… Egypt, and all of their Pantheon will be free, and the minds of their people will be freed too… That is what the Oracle Foretold afterall.” 

Sugoroku sighed. “Has the Oracle ever been wrong before?”

Arachne paused for a moment, thinking over the question, the Oracle was not a woman one went to often, for she had a nasty habit of telling you exactly when you would die… but never how, making weaker souls fret and fear everything on the day of their death to the point of which that some even killed themselves, unknowingly enacting the part of the Oracle’s words she had not spoke, so as their fates played out correctly…

“The Oracle has never been wrong before. She is a being even beyond the power of Gods, bending fate like strings of thread to her whim and desire. She would not lie about the correction of such a great slight upon this world.” 

“Then why did she not stop it?”

“... She had her reasons, one being ‘From suffering comes new hope and life.’ Though that did little to soften anyones anger at the time.”

Sugoroku nodded, but shoved his hands into his own coat pockets with a sigh. “We can discuss this another time… I won’t keep bothering you with question so late at night when you’ve only been up for half an hour or so… correct?” 

She nodded, she and Yugi were nocturnal creatures, unlike the elderly gentleman, whom was showing his tiredness. “Yes… Goodnight mister Mouto.” 

They bowed to each other in farewell, before Sugoroku made his way down the snow covered path, quickly leaving her view as she turned to return inside.

Yugi was waiting inside, poking at his new coat and the surrounding thread, his wide bright eyes once again filled with curiosity.

She chuckled under her breath, everything was going to be okay.

* * *

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Until next time! Bye!**

**Moon**


	4. New friend, old memories

**AI am so sorry this took so long, I said a month, but chapter 9 took a lot longer to complete than expected, anyway, this chapter is ready to go, so, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing and editing it!**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

January 1987

With the new year coming and going, Arachne found herself receiving a phone call that she had been dreading.

_ “I’m sorry ma’am… but there’s no room to transfer your charge into the night school.” _

“No… please… surely… what am I going to do then?! Yugi could  _ die _ if he were to step out into the sun! Whatever the charge is I will double it! ” Her grip on the phone was shaking, causing the black plastic coated cord to wave in front of her.

_ “No room is no room ma’am, money won’t change that, the best course of action is to quickly apply for the local day time school, and just give him an umbrella or something. Good day Miss Weaver.” _ The line went dead a moment later.

She wanted to scream, to throw the phone down and smash it into a thousand pieces.

“Those rats! I’ll have all their heads!” She roared as quietly as possible, seething with barely contained rage as her shaking hand released the wall mounted phone, the telecommunication device bouncing up and down whilst hitting the wall a few times as she slid down the wall herself, hands clasping her face in despair and desperation the edges of her fingers nearly breaking the skin of her disguise.

They had called at Lunch time, waking her from a light slumber to tell her  _ this, _ she would have to work fast… begrudgingly they were right, there was only one night school in the city… she’d have to send him to… to a daytime school...

That meant she had to work fast… contact every school in the area…  and make the boy an entire new wardrobe… just perfect for her already shot to pieces nerves.

Her sewing machine, which she’d bought on a whim only two days prior was going to be hard at work for days if she was lucky.

Thankfully, she had half expected this to happen, and had stocked up on everything she needed. But still the sudden danger she’d be sending Yugi to everyday… it scared her far more than should even be reasonable given the situation. 

Yet she was still there, hands clasped over her face and fighting back tears as the mid day  sun beat down on the roof above, leaving blessedly short stretches of light to bounce into the living room through the centre gap in the blackout curtains.

Was this what it felt like? What Sarilla had felt for so long? That desperation? That despair that no matter what they did… they could still fail their ward… their child…

In the end… Sarilla hadn’t been able to protect her sons… she was a monster…. Just a monster… she had no divine power… she could not burn the entire nation of Egypt till the sands turned to glass... like the one who’d so easily tossed her across the borders she’d help set like a mere pebble, sent her crashing into the middle of Athens, coming to rest in a bloody heap in the rubble of a temple destroyed with her impact.

And she… sitting there her home in Domino…. Far from home… far from help… was just a monster too… 

Yugi wasn’t hers… he was Sarilla’s…. He was  _ Sarilla’s…. _

Not hers… She was his guardian…. Keeping him safe until she could pass the boy back…

But how could she keep him safe  _ now _ ?

Clothes could only do so much to hide him… she wasn’t strong…. Not like the gods… she was a  _ spider _ , easily crushed under the heel of one so much stronger than her...

What if he was forced to go out and do PE? What if some brat shoved him out a window? A door? What if they dragged him into sunlight as he kicked and screamed? 

What if he begged for her to save him whilst he was burned to ash again?

And she wasn’t even there to try and save him, use her body to block the inferno… she’d merely receive a call... telling her that Yugi had spontaneously combusted…

By then, it would be too late...

She couldn’t protect him…. Not like she could in Nagoya… When he could go to school in the safety of the night...

It was too much… too much… the tears that fell, fell in silence only broken by strained rasping breaths as she tried to stop herself from wailing, she couldn’t wake Yugi… he’d worry, he’d question… ask…. he’d ask why he meant so much to her…

She wasn’t sure she would even be able to look him in the eyes and tell him she didn’t know.

She didn’t know anything.

She couldn’t do anything to keep him safe…

She was going to fail… and that realisation of the inevitable… she knew it would haunt her now… it would cling to her mind… tear at it… weaken her… until she crumbled…

No…. No… she wasn’t going to let that happen… not now… not ever! 

She’d made a promise to Sarilla… she’d return her sons to her… no matter the cost!

* * *

It was a few hours later that she went to her new boss, Sugoroku, and told him of this new plight.

The elderly man understood her distress, and offered his sympathy, and spare pair of hands to help her with the new wardrobe, customers were few and far between so soon after the winter solstice rush was over, so he could easily close the shop early by an hour or so without any real harm to his income.

At no point did he press about the still fresh tracks that trickled down her cheeks, and for that she was truly thankful for the arm he put over her shoulder instead.

It was long past midnight before they were done with even the first set.

They showed it off to the perplexed five year old, the fear in his eyes at the notion of having to go out into the sun was painful to see, but it was at the same time a reassurance.

Arachne lowered herself into a kneel to be at the boys height. “I know you’re scared Yugi… but the only night school in the city doesn’t have room… so… I want you to be brave for me, and promise me that you’ll never walk into a ray of sunlight, okay?”

The young boy bowed his head in thought for a few minutes before it rose again, and determination burned in those bright amber orbs that met her almost ruby reds. “I’ll do my best Aunty!”

She chuckled mirthfully in response, a proud smile on her face. “Oh course you will Little Prince, of course you will.” 

* * *

It was a few days later that Sugoroku found himself walking the young boy to his new school.

Arachne couldn’t do it, she’d fretted herself to exhaustion the night before and when he’d arrived earlier that morning to check on the two of them, he found the cursed woman struggling to stay awake let alone upright as she tried to get Yugi ready for school.

On top of that, her disguise itself, as powerful an illusion as it was, was flickering at the edges, suggesting that her trying to get the boy to school would be a great risk to her cover.

So, after a good bit of persuasion, he’d managed to convince Arachne to rest, and that he would take Yugi safely to school.

The boy was honestly no better off than his guardian, as much as Arachne had tried to keep him up to get him used to daylight hours, the sudden twelve hour shift was clearly having an effect on the child, if his black as night shoes scuffing the ground was anything to go by, and the droop of the equally dark Umbrella that he held. 

Thankfully, the clouds were dark and heavy above, little risk of sunlight getting a clear shot of the boy.

The winter weather would not last forever though, and as the freshly fallen snow crackled under their feet, the promise of ice hidden underneath set Sugoroku on edge, he wouldn’t want either of them to fall. At his age, there was risk he’d not get back up.

By whatever blessing there was placed on this boy, the school that Arachne had been able to get him into under such short notice also happened to be the closest, ‘Domino Elementary’.

Sugoroku looked down at Yugi again, a puzzled expression on his face. The boy was only five… and yet, he had already been going to an elementary night school, he knew the boy was smart…

He knew why Arachne did it, she had to get Yugi out of that Brothel as many nights as she could so the boy didn’t suffocate from loneliness… surely he no longer needed such a thing until he was at least six?

Then again, the lad clearly wasn’t a normal human, he didn’t know by how much, Arachne refused to tell him that.

It was that thought that reminded him of one of his earliest conversations with Arachne… over the boys original creation.

Arachne had not given him the full story… but it sounded like the Ancient god Thoth… gave Yugi… Heba at the time, to his parents as a gift… a gift from the God of Knowledge… it made sense that the God would instil within the boy a great deal of intelligence, the boys wide eyed curiosity and ability to soak up every bit of knowledge he heard of… it really was making sense in his mind all of a sudden why the boy was already going to school.

“Grandpa… we’re here…” The words were quiet, with a tremble of fear in them as the boy suddenly ducked behind him as much as his hold on the boys free hand would allow.

Snapping out of his trance like thoughts, he found that Yugi was right, they were standing in front of the gates, where many a young student was already entering, dressed up in their uniforms… black themed uniforms… that was good, at least Yugi wouldn’t stick out as much as they had feared in a crowd.

Some eyes had drifted to him and Yugi behind him, but quickly moved on.

Sighing Sugoroku turned to Yugi and knelt down on his aching knees, maybe he should take up Arachne on her offer to send him to Asclepius, one of the Gods of healing from her home Pantheon, apparently he owed her a favour after she fixed his robes after an incident with a Chariot race a few decades back.

“Yugi.” 

The single word drew the boys gaze, his bright amethyst eyes laced with terror.

Sugoroku felt his entire body sag, he knew the boy was scared, he’d never been outside during the day, add to that he wasn’t with his guardian now, and going into a place he didn’t know, with children over a year older than him that he did not know.

“I’m scared Grandpa Mouto…” 

“I know lad. But remember, it’s only for a few hours. There’s probably a lot of really nice people in there just waiting to to your friends!”

The boys eyes seemed to widen further. “Friends?” 

“Yes Yugi, friends, people who you can be happy with of your own age, myself and Aracha can’t give you that, can we?”

Yugi pouted for a moment, gripping the fine leather bound curved handle of his umbrella. “...No…”

Sugoroku chuckled. “Besides, I bet you’re smarter than everyone here! Go show them that my boy!” 

Yugi practically beamed up at him. “Okay!” 

Sugoroku smiled, taking the boys hand and leading him past the gate. “Come on now then lad, we need to find the reception.”

Yugi just nodded, holding the handle of his umbrella ever tighter with one hand, the other gripping onto Solomon’s like a vice. 

It took at most ten minutes to sort out all the details at reception, and to reaffirm the fact that direct sunlight, even off a mirror, was a big no no for Yugi. The receptionist was a bit surprised at first, but after quickly asking the nurse, it was all cleared up and the nurse wrote up a note for Yugi to carry and present to all of his teachers if the nurse didn’t do it herself as she offered.

The Nurse then offered to take Yugi to his first class, Solomon accepted the offer, and gave the young lad a last comforting pat on the shoulder whilst the boy looked back at him in fear. 

“Remember Yugi, it’s only for a few hours, then I or Aracha will be back to pick you up.” 

He could see Yugi gulp as he nodded, taking the nurses hand in his own as his other held the now closed umbrella close to his chest.

“Yes Grandpa…” Then the lad was being led away towards the stairs up to the next floor.

Sugoroku chose not to stick around, nodded a goodbye to the receptionist before making his leave of the school, hoping that everything went well.

Back inside, Yugi stood alone in the corridor, reading one of the paper covered boards, it was another classes winter solstice project, not yet taken down because there was nothing to replace it he assumed.

The nurse had left him there whilst she explained his condition to the class and his first teacher, she would do this for all of his classes she told him, she was nice, elderly, but nowhere near as old as Grandpa.

“Yugi?” The nurse called for him, head peering out of the classes sliding door. “I’ve had all the curtains pulled, you can come in now.”

Yugi nodded his thanks, following in after her, ducking his head from the sudden gazes of his new homeroom classmates., the now closed umbrella held in a white knuckle grip. 

“Everyone, this is Weaver Yugi, he will be joining you for the rest of the year. Please keep the curtains closed whilst he is with you and in all other classes. Yugi suffers from a very rare and extreme case of the condition Photosensitivity, which makes his skin highly allergic to sunlight. Please for his health do not open any curtains if they run the risk of exposing him, only a few rays could do serious and long term harm. Thank you, Yugi, this is Sensei Chu Lee, she will be your home room teacher.”

Yugi looked around the class once before turning to his home room teacher and bowing. “Good… morning… Sensei.” 

The nurse sent him a last look before stepping out. “I’ll come back to collect your for your next class in a bit, okay Yugi?”

Yugi just nodded.

Then the nurse was gone. 

His teacher then spoke. “Well then Weaver, how about you tell us a few things about yourself?” 

Yugi gulped, but straightened. 

“Um… like what?”

“Well, where are your from?”

He paused for a moment, two names came to him, Nagoya, and another… but he wasn’t sure about that one, so he said the first. 

“I’m.. from Nagoya.” 

“Oh, Nagoya is a lovely city.”

“You don’t see that at night.” Yugi muttered, holding on even tighter to his umbrella.

His teacher looked a little confused but pressed on. “And what about your parents?”

Yugi looked to her, his expression changing to distress. “I… I don’t know… I only… There’s only Aunty… and Mr Mouto…”

His Sensei’s gaze widened slightly in understanding and quickly switched to a different topic “Alright, do you have any hobbies Yugi?” 

Yugi shuffled his feet, flinching minutely as something flickered at the back of his memory, a distorted mess, but he picked out the thrill of what he was doing, it was the same thrill of when his aunty had began telling him those stories on the train.

“I… I like to learn.”

His teacher gave him a surprised look before nodding. “Anything else?” 

He paused… thinking long and hard, before he decided to speak.

“No Sensei.” 

“Alright, go take that seat over there, and we’ll begin homeroom.” 

He nodded and moved to walk between the desks, trying to ignore the odd looks he was getting.

Sitting down all he had time to do was hang his bag on the hook on his desk before a hand was in front of his face.

Jolting he looked to the hands owner, finding the smiling face of a brunette girl sitting to his left. 

“Hi! I’m Mazaki Anzu!” 

He took her hand and found her grip to be strong. “Weaver… Weaver Yugi.” 

Anzu beamed, but looked to their hands, still holding, he looked too, their skin was so different, his as white as the sheets of paper on her desk, and hers a warm cream.

He pulled his hand away and looked to his desk, it had the odd scribble on it, a few scuff marks on the edges as well.

He looked ahead and found the teacher was already listing off the register, his name ended up being the very last, Anzu was somewhere in the middle.

It was just like night school.

Only… his Aunty wasn’t there anymore.

That numbness was back, the class was dark… the curtains pulled for his benefit… but this was not the darkness that comforted him… it was still too bright… the room lit by flickering bulbs surrounded by paper lamp shades.

He was given his new books… they smelt new… felt new… but a small part of him wished for something else… something rougher… something that was made with a labour of love and determination of documentation.

Homeroom was uneventful, Anzu was nice enough, his first new friend maybe? She talked a lot, asking him many a question he tried his best to answer.

He asked a few himself, gradually gaining a sliver of confidence with her, she wasn’t his aunty… but she reminded him of someone else… someone he couldn’t put neither face or name too.

Someone who’d been a friend… long ago.

The thought came and went like a passing breeze, leaving him to listen to the teacher for a while before Anzu drew his attention again with another tap on his shoulder.

She was pointing with her other hand to the door. “The nurse is calling for you… see you later?”

He just gave a small nod, packing up his things and walking over to the Nurse, who gestured for him to follow her to the next class.

* * *

He was told to wait outside again, as the nurse went in, sliding the wood framed paper door behind her before she set to work closing all of the blinds. Only then was he called in, by now, the entirety of the class had emptied out, none sending even a passing glance at him, that was perfectly fine by him, he didn’t like the attention he’d had standing at the front.

But he knew he’d have to go through it a good number of times still, looking at his timetable it looked like he’d be doing this as well tomorrow… and the day after… what was PE?

He was called in again, introduced to his new teacher, he smiled at him, and told him to stand in front of the black board.

Now, they had to wait for the rest of the class, they’d all look at him as they came in, he knew it.

Soon enough, once this class was all sat down, he recognised some faces, others not, and he was told to answer a few questions.

Name.

He felt like it shouldn’t be Yugi… he had a different name… what was it? He still answered Yugi.

Hobby’s.

Horseback riding? No, he’d never rode a horse… had he? He answered learning.

Where he was from.

Kehmet… no, he was from Nagoya… he answered Nagoya.

Parents.

He had a mother and father… he felt a ghostly touch on his shoulder, massive claws dwarfing his small form... he said he only had his Aunty and Grandpa.

A memory flickered, under the burning sun, hundreds… thousands of faces, her touch… there was his brother… something was being put on his head...

Then a new question.

What do you want to be when you’re older?

He answered before he could think.

“Find my family.” 

He got some odd looks.

Then came another question.

What was your family like?

He paused, as memories flickered.

“Mother was kind… always protective… she always had some wise advice to give… Father… he wasn’t around as much… he had a busy job… but he always gave hugs… making jokes at others expense… big brother… he was always so serious in public… but he always liked to laugh in private… he and father got on really well… and…” The memories flickered away, he tried to hold on… but it was useless, and a feeling of emptiness settled in his heart, as he shuffled his feet. “I don’t remember much…” 

There was a pause before the teacher told him he could go sit down.

No one introduced themselves this time like Mazaki did… that was fine, he opened the book which had been marked for him as ‘Japanese’ that was the subject this class was for.

That was fine, learning more about the language he spoke didn’t need much thought…

Another flicker… sitting at a low table… scrolls everywhere, a hand, clawed, holding a feathered quill, writing something… drawing out each shape, the voice too distorted to make out, but he still felt a smile form on his face… uncle.

The day repeated itself, with each time the questions came, he got flickers… on horseback, holding onto his big brother’s back, something pulling at his back, tugged by the wind, they were laughing, jumping over rocks with ease… a beautiful garden, lit by moonlight, his father, bending down, all the way down to his height… his back arching so high it towered over the very walls… telling him about a scarab scuttling around on a bush blooming with white flowers…

More came, they left again just as quickly.

He could never hold on for more than a few seconds before they were gone again.

He saw Anzu two more times, but she sat in other parts of the classroom, the empty seat always changing spot as much as hers did.

* * *

Soon enough, he was told to wait in the nurse's office, he watched as the other students changed their shoes, something he’d done when Grandpa was seeing to getting him signed in, switching to their outdoor shoes before leaving with their friends, or even alone, the sun was close to setting, he could see the long shadows and long beams of light from around the corner of the nurses door. 

Then he heard whispers, he looked again, and found that someone had spotted him, they were talking behind their hand, to two of their fellow classmates. 

“He’s weird... Heard he can’t be in sunlight.”

“Do you think it’s contagious?”

“Don’t go near him, I saw Anzu talking to him in home room, he looks like a twig.” 

Yugi ducked his head, looking down at his hands where they were clenched into the mattress he was sitting on.

Of course they’d talk… he didn’t have Aunty to scare them off…

The whispers just keep going, more and more joining.

He hated it, pressing his hands to his ears, trying to drown out their accusations… was he sick? Would he burden others with this?

He didn’t want that… he wanted everything to go back to normal.

But what was normal? It wasn’t this… it was… his mother… his father… everyone he couldn’t remember.

He didn’t realise the whispers had suddenly died, the group shoved apart to allow passage.

Arachne scowled at the group who’d parted to let her through, closing her umbrella once she was out of the sun’s rays. 

There was a moment of silence before she slammed the closed tip of the Umbrella into the tiled floor. 

The group jolted.

“Shouldn’t you all be going home children?”

The venom that practically dripped from her voice sent most of them running, save a single wild haired blonde and what appeared to be his brunette friend.

She let her gaze drift to them, in the corner of her vision, scowl hardening. 

“Be sure to understand, that Yugi is not to be caused such distress again, or else I will alert all the culprits parents of their actions.” She stated, before moving forwards to the nurses office. “The consequences will not be pleasant, for anyone.” The remaining two boys bolted at that.

“Yugi.” She called, but the boy still had his ears covered, she spotted a small patch of dampness on his thigh, the poor child, worked up to the point of tears on the first day at a new school.

She wasn’t going to stand for that. 

Kneeling down she managed to catch his attention, prying his hands away from his ears.

His gaze shot up to her, the tears welled up there unmistakable.

She pulled him into a tight hug a moment later, one hand burying into his wild locks and the other, with the hooked handle of the umbrella draped over the crook of her elbow, wrapped around the boys back. 

Whispering into his ear, she tried to soothe the boy. “Sssh, sssh, it’s okay Little Prince, it’s okay… I’m here now… we’re going home… Grandpa’s made an early dinner for all of us.” 

Yugi nodded against her shoulder, grip unwavering. 

After a few minutes she pulled away enough to coax him into letting go, she barely contained a grimace, this wasn’t right, it shouldn’t be her… it shouldn’t be her that Yugi clutched to when in such a level of distress…

It was a thought that often plagued her mind, she managed to push it aside as she moved to stand, taking one of Yugi’s hands in her own boney one. “Come now Yugi.” 

Yugi was quick to follow, but hesitated at the beams of light that littered the floor, his grip on his aunty tightening.

Arachne looked to the boy, after a moment she stooped down again, the few lingering students left be damned, and hoisted the boy up with her left arm. “You can ride on my shoulders.” She remarked.

Yugi gave a her a surprised look before nodding, easily clambering up the last bit of his aunt, throwing his right leg over her shoulders and moving to sit, hands gripping onto the fine, silky black locks of his aunty.

Arachne chuckled, her now free arms moving as she continued to walk, easily stepping around the beams of sunlight as she went to open the umbrella once they were under the cover of the schools doorway.

Once the umbrella was fully open, she offered it to Yugi. “Hold this for me?” 

Yugi nodded, taking the stem of the Umbrella and holding it down so that the fabric and metal structure of the inside bumped against his head. 

“Home now?”

“Yes Yugi, we can go home now.”

“Aunty?”

“Yes Little Prince?”

“Can I have a horse? Not now… but some time… in the future.”

Arachne almost laughed, knowing that Yugi would have no issue in finding a ‘horse’ more than happy to be his steed.

The Kirin that lived not far from Domino was already sending requests via the Yokai to be the lad’s protector and steed.

It was a great honour to be the rider of a Kirin, something that didn’t exactly happen often, but it was all down to Yugi.

“Now that you mention it, there is a horse I was planning to introduce you to, in a year or so, when you’re old enough to ride.”

Her smile only widened at the excited gasp Yugi let out, and the sudden bouncing the boy was doing on her shoulders.

She’d have to send a ‘looking likely’ message to Kitakaze.

Yugi needed more than just herself to protect him after all.

And Kitakaze would be an excellent tutor whilst the boy was in Japan.

The rest of the walk was filled with Yugi going on and on about his day.

Apparently he’d made a friend, Miazaki Anzu, she sounded like a nice girl.

She decided to suggest he invite her round at some point, not right away, but when Yugi felt like their friendship had improved.

Yugi was happy. She could tell from the tone of his voice, despite the earlier hiccup.

He was getting better, it would be gradual recovering from the monotony of their old life in Nagoya, but it would happen.

Arriving home, a glance over Yugi’s leg revealed that the umbrella was now hardly needed, the sun was nearly completely set, the sunset almost over.

Turning back Arachne easily unlocked the door, stooping into a crouch to make sure that Yugi didn’t bang his head on the doorway.

It was only when the door was kicked closed behind them that she reached up to take the umbrella back, quickly closing the large item before dropping it into the umbrella stand by the door. 

Once Yugi was safely set down on the floor, she made her own way to the kitchen, where Solomon was busy adding the finishing touches to three piping hot plates of Tempura.

She couldn’t help the little chuckle that bubbled up inside her, the delectable smell of the food they were about to enjoy wafting towards her. 

Everything was going to be fine, she’d have to work on the umbrella’s a bit more, perhaps adding a hanging down veil from the rim, just to provide that bit more added shade… hopefully that wouldn’t impair Yugi’s vision… she didn’t want the boy getting himself hurt because he couldn’t see what was ahead of him… maybe some gloves as well, to shield his hands?

Solomon calling her to eat distracted her thoughts, smiling she made her way to the attached dining area, finding Yugi already kneeling at the low set dining table.

Everything was going to be fine, as long as they were careful, everything would work out.

_ “Just hold on Sari… I’m not letting you down again… Wherever you are.” _

* * *

 

**And that's chapter 4! Hopefully I'll post chapter five soon, emphasis on hopefully, it will show up eventually though, promise!**

**Until that unset day arrives however, goodbye!**

**Moon.**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for getting through this chapter. I hope you all enjoy and come back to read the next update!  
> -Moon


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